Published January 20, 2021 •
Updated on January 20, 2021 at 9:38 am
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“I want to thank NGA Chairman Andrew Cuomo for this important responsibility,” Lamont said in a statement.
“Our state was hit early and hit hard by this pandemic. Throughout this unprecedented crisis, I have worked with my neighboring governors to ensure our responses were coordinated. Our state has provided leadership and ingenuity, as we know our approach saved lives. Our public health professionals set up nation-leading testing and contact tracing infrastructure, which have assisted in our response to the coronavirus pandemic. We also worked with our federal partners as we responded to multiple severe weather events, and I am eager to exchange ideas and best practices with my fellow governors,” Lamont said.
Lamont appointed to national COVID task force
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Gov. Ned Lamont and U.S. Sen Richard Blumenthal (left), D-Conn.), in Westport, Conn. in August 2020.John Minchillo / Associated Press
Gov. Ned Lamont has been appointed co-chair of the National Governors Association’s Pandemic and Disaster Response Task Force to help states manage the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
This task force is one of three created by the NGA to coordinate and lead bipartisan state and regional efforts in response to the pandemic, a Wednesday press release from Lamont’s office said.
Lamont’s co-chair on the Pandemic and Disaster Response Task Force is Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee. The duo will focus on issues relating to the Federal Emergency Management Administration, National Guard, cyber security and health care. They will also focus on COVID-19 testing, vaccines, supply chain and personal protective equipment.
The governmentâs agreement with VIGL to manage the territoryâs horse racing tracks and gambling âracinosâ expires today, and itâs uncertain whether Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. intends to extend or modify it amid ongoing litigation with Video Lottery Terminal operator Southland Gaming.
âWeâre not walking away from the Virgin Islands,â VIGLâs Chief Operating Officer Lance Griffith said Monday as his organization prepares to walk away from active management of the tracks.
According to Griffith, VIGL has decided to allow the temporary operating agreement â which was struck in March 2018 â to expire while the parties wait for the court case with Southland to be resolved, Griffith said.
ST. THOMAS â V.I. lawmakers on Tuesday voted to send Gov. Albert Bryan Jr.âs latest debt refinancing bill to the Senate Finance Committee, requesting amendments that will likely take shape in the 34th Legislature and delay the governorâs debt reduction plan further.
The unanimous vote partly stemmed from concerns over Kroll Bond Rating Agency, which the Bryan administration had touted for its favorable bond rating and as proof that refinanced bonds could attract investors and be issued at lower interest rates.
Senate President Novelle Francis Jr., however, said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently charged Kroll with internal control failures with regard to its rating methods. The litigation led to a $2 million settlement.
April 3: Detective Vivianne Newton is appointed Deputy Chief of Police for St. John.
April 3: U.S. District Court Judge Curtis Gomez rules that the V.I. government must pay the Government Employeesâ Retirement System $63,143,506 â including more than $3 million in interest alone â for nearly two decades worth of unpaid employer contributions.
April 4: The territory records its first death related to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
April 5: St. Croix native Tim Duncan is named for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
April 6: Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. expands his order closing beach bars and restaurants to include the beaches as well.